In recent years, thermal transfer systems have been developed to obtain prints from pictures that have been generated from a camera or scanning device. According to one way of obtaining such prints, an electronic picture is first subjected to color separation by color filters. The respective color-separated images are then converted into electrical signals. These signals are then transmitted to a thermal printer. To obtain the print, a cyan, magenta or yellow dye-donor element is placed face-to-face with a dye receiver element. The two are then inserted between a thermal printing head and a platen roller. A line-type thermal printing head is used to apply heat from the back of the dye-donor sheet. The thermal printing head has many heating elements and is heated up sequentially in response to one of the cyan, magenta or yellow signals. The process is then repeated for the other colors. A color hard copy is thus obtained which corresponds to the original picture viewed on a screen.
Dye receiver elements used in thermal dye transfer generally include a support (transparent or reflective) bearing on one side thereof a dye image-receiving layer, and optionally additional layers, such as a compliant or cushioning layer between the support and the dye receiving layer. The compliant layer provides insulation to keep heat generated by the thermal head at the surface of the print, and also provides close contact between the donor ribbon and receiving sheet which is essential for uniform print quality.
Copending and commonly assigned U.S. Ser. Nos. 12/490,455 and 12/490,464 (both filed Jun. 24, 2009 by Dontula et al.) describe imaging elements having multiple extruded layers included extruded compliant and antistatic subbing layers. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2008/0220190 (Majumdar et al.) describes image recording elements comprising a support having thereon an aqueous subbing layer and an extruded dye receiving layer.
Copending and commonly assigned U.S. Ser. Nos. 12/581,921 (filed Oct. 20, 2009 by Majumdar, Honan, and Weidner) and 12/490,464 (filed Jun. 24, 2009, by Dontula, Chang, and Thomas) describe thermal dye transfer receiver elements that include an extruded compliant layer and an antistatic layer adhering it to an image receiving layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,550 (Asajima et al.) describes heat transfer image-receiving sheets having matted dye-receiving layers on both sides of the substrate to reduce the traces of image from one side being transferred to the other side. Polyurethane resin intermediate layers can be located under the matted dye-receiving layers.
Double-side thermal printing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,805 (Ohshima et al.) in which a thermal transfer printing sheet is printed in an apparatus having a rotary holder to change the sides of the printing sheet for printing.
There is a need for improved duplex thermal dye transfer receiver elements that can be thermally printed on both sides with reduced image defects caused especially by transport rollers in a thermal printer.